


Falling

by honestmischief



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, First Kiss, Loki is Santa Claus, M/M, Magic, North Pole, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Reindeer, Santa's Workshop, Some angst, Soulmates kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:34:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21946657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honestmischief/pseuds/honestmischief
Summary: When Tony accidentally crashed his suit in the North Pole, he found someone that he never expected to see.
Relationships: Loki/Tony Stark
Comments: 14
Kudos: 170





	Falling

**Author's Note:**

> This fic takes place in December 2016, a few months after Civil War.  
> I was in a Christmas mood and then suddenly I started writing a fic where Loki is literally Santa Claus. I don't know how it happened, but it did. oops.  
> Big thank you to tinydragontony and Rabentochter from the frostiron discord for giving me ideas of nicknames that Tony could call Loki!

Two weeks before Christmas, Tony decided that he needed to take the suit for a joy ride. It was late at night and he was feeling restless. He had been working on some stuff for the company in his workshop for about a week and it had been way too long since he breathed in some fresh air. Even he needed to go outside sometimes, even though most people wouldn’t believe it. 

Tony didn’t have a destination in mind, but he wanted to see some snow. He decided to fly north for a while and then figure out what to do from there. Maybe he would stop somewhere in Canada, Tony was sure that there would be some snow there. It wasn’t that long of a flight from New York. 

If Tony was being honest, he would have admitted that he wasn’t paying much attention to where he was going. What finally got him to pay attention was a sudden turbulence that made him lose control of his suit. He was falling down towards the icy ground below him quickly.

“FRIDAY?” Tony asked with panic in his voice. 

“Boss, I-” FRIDAY began to say, but she was cutting in and out. “I am losing access to your suit.” FRIDAY’S’ voice was fading. It sounded like a phone call with no service. 

“What do you mean, FRIDAY?” Tony asked, but there was no answer. “FRIDAY!” 

There was still no reply from his beloved AI. She was able to slow his fall a little bit before she got disconnected, but he was still worried. Tony was also able to manually control the suit to slow himself down as he was falling, but he still crashed onto the ground. 

“FRIDAY?” Tony asked weakly. There was still no answer. 

Tony tried to stand up, but his suit was damaged from the fall. He had to open the suit and drag it through the snow. The snow was falling hard and Tony knew that he would freeze if he didn’t find shelter soon. He had no idea where he was and couldn’t use FRIDAY for help, so he was screwed. 

Before Tony had a chance to walk far, he caught eye of a small village. He hurried his steps to get closer to hopefully find some warmth. 

“Hey!” someone shouted. Tony turned to see a group of men sprinting towards them. 

They appeared to be policemen. They wore navy blue outfits with badges, and they looked hostile. Tony didn’t understand why, considering he didn’t do anything wrong for once. 

“You’re trespassing!” one of the men exclaimed. 

“I’m sorry! My suit broke, I just need somewhere I can go to fix it and I’ll be out of your way,” Tony explained. 

Tony took a closer look at the policemen. He could see that each one of them were wearing a badge that said “Elf Police.” Tony was aware that Christmas was coming up but that was still really odd. He also noticed that all of the men had pointy ears that resembled actual elves. Elves from the North Pole. Maybe Tony hit his head when he crashed.

“He already has seen too much,” one of them said. 

Before Tony could react, the elf pulled out a taser and everything went black.

  
  
Tony woke up with his hands tied behind the back of the chair that he was sitting on. The first thing that he noticed was that his suit wasn’t in sight. He immediately felt his heart start to race. He was about to scream, but a man and a woman walked in the room where he was being held. The man had light blonde hair and the woman had black hair. They also had distinct pointy ears. They both were wearing outfits composed of red and green, something that Tony imagined elves would typically wear. 

“How did you find this place?” the man asked. 

“I’m Tony, nice to meet you too,” he scoffed.

“We really need you to cooperate, Sir,” the man frowned. Tough crowd. 

“I was flying my suit and crashed. It just happened to be here,” Tony told them. “Where’s my suit?” He didn’t want these elves to mass produce his suit and give them to every little kid for Christmas. 

The woman furrowed her brows and turned to the other elf. “I think we need to consult the big guy.”

The man gasped. “But it’s so close to Christmas. He’s busy.” 

“I know,” the woman sighed. “But this is Tony Stark that found us. We have to do something.”

Tony couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Was he actually in the North Pole? It sounded impossible. He hadn’t believed in Santa Claus since he was four years old. His parents stopped pretending when he was able to build his first circuit board because they figured he was too old. Jarvis continued to give him a present from Santa every year, but Tony knew better than to believe in a myth. 

However, it wouldn’t be the first impossible thing that Tony had ever encountered. Aliens were real, Norse gods were real, and Bruce can turn into the Hulk. Nothing was impossible. 

“The big guy? Do you mean Santa Claus?” Tony asked. 

“Yeah, we need to call him in,” the man sighed. 

The two elves walked out of the room and Tony was stuck alone with his hands still tied behind his chair. He still had no idea where his suit was, and he wasn’t okay with it. He had made weapons from Christmas decorations a few years ago, but he didn’t see any in sight. There was nothing in the room besides the chair. Tony sighed to himself. He had nothing to work with. 

Tony heard people talking outside of the room, but their voices were muffled. 

“Once again, we are so sorry to disturb you so close to the big day,” the same woman from before said. 

“It’s okay. I can handle it from here. Thank you for your help,” someone replied. It was a man, and even though Tony couldn’t hear it well, he could tell that it was someone that he had met before. 

Tony didn’t have time to figure out who it could be before he revealed himself as he walked in the room. Tony’s jaw dropped in shock.

“Loki?” Tony shouted. 

“Hello, Stark,” the god of mischief grinned. He leaned his back against the wall across from Tony. 

The sight of Loki was a lot to take in. The god looked much better than the last time Tony saw him in 2012. He appeared much healthier, to start. Loki had cuts and bruises on his face during the Battle of New York and Tony didn’t know why he was surprised to see them healed four years later. Loki was wearing a green sweater with black jeans and boots, and it was startling to see him in regular clothes. 

It was surprising to see Loki in the North Pole. Tony thought the elves were bringing Santa Claus to speak with him. 

“What are you doing here?” Tony asked. 

“I can ask you the same thing. It is  _ you  _ who is trespassing,” Loki responded. Tony wasn’t used to being confused, but he had absolutely no idea what was happening. 

“Excuse me? Shouldn’t you be isolated in an Asgardian prison?” Tony questioned. 

“Oh, I couldn’t sit in that little cell for very long. You are a smart man, you should know that,” Loki replied. 

“So why are you here, of all places?” Tony asked. He needed answers. 

“Most Midgardian children call me Santa Claus,” Loki said with a smile.

Tony thought he was hallucinating. There was no way that Loki just said that. 

“Please say that you’re joking,” Tony said. 

“This will be my third Christmas,” Loki told him. 

“This is a joke. This has to be some kind of insane prank. I wouldn’t put it past you,” Tony said. 

“I do not owe you any answers. I need to know how you discovered my home. The North Pole is not visible on any radars. Not even your artificial intelligence should be able to see it,” Loki explained to him. That would explain why Tony lost his connection with FRIDAY. He was basically off the map. Tony would actually love to see how that was possible, but he had to push away the thought. 

“I told your elves. I was flying my suit and crashed,” Tony said. 

Loki raised an eyebrow. “So you just happened to fly your suit over the North Pole?”

“I wasn’t paying attention. I didn’t realize how far north I was flying,” Tony said honestly. 

“You must understand that I cannot allow you to tell anyone my true identity once you return home,” Loki warned. 

Obviously Tony was going to tell everyone that Loki was hiding in the North Pole under the disguise of Santa Claus. He was a war criminal that everyone was trying to find for the past four years. He tried to take over the planet and he really thought that he could hide as Santa Claus.  _ Santa Claus!  _

“Yeah, no way,” Tony said simply. 

Tony expected the god to fight back, but instead he walked towards him and started to untie his hands from the back of the chair. Was he really setting him free?

“Let’s talk about this as we take a walk,” Loki told him. 

As they left the room, Tony immediately looked around to see if there was anything that he could make use of to help him get out of there. So far all he saw were other elves that they were passing by in the hallway and random Christmas decorations including small trees with ornaments and garlands. Tony could work with that. He took a mental note of where they were so he could go back to them. 

They walked outside into the village and it was light out. Tony must had been unconscious for a while, which didn’t settle well with him. The village of the North Pole was small, but it was nice. There were small shops, restaurants, and more scattered around. It was only snowing a little, but there was a nice coat of snow on the ground. The energy of the village was calming in a way and Tony found himself wanting to walk around. But instead, he continued to follow Loki. Even though Tony wanted to explore, he was really cold and eager to go inside. 

Loki led them into the largest building in the village. It was labeled “The Workshop” and Tony was able to easily guess where they were. 

“This is Santa’s workshop,” Tony observed as they walked in. 

“Yes. Welcome to my workshop,” Loki said. “Let’s take a look around.”

The workshop was massive and Tony could only stare at it in awe. There were hundreds of assembly lines with hundreds of elves working diligently to build toys. There were action figures, dolls, stuffed animals, board games, and everything that any child could ever want. Tony could only imagine what it was like to build in a workshop this big. His brain automatically started coming up with more ideas to increase production and create unique toys. 

“As you can see, Stark, there are many nice children that depend on us to make and deliver their toys. I can’t let you ruin Christmas for them,” Loki explained. 

Loki’s genuine expression made Tony feel like he really cared. He was almost pleading for Tony not to do anything to mess it up. It was easy to tell that Loki wasn’t doing it for himself, he was doing it for the millions of children that depended on him. Tony felt his heart warm in his chest. It was actually really sweet. 

But then Tony remembered who Loki actually was. He wasn’t Santa Claus. He was the god of mischief that tried to take over the planet. He was hiding. 

“You failed when you tried to take over Earth so you just had to come in and take over the North Pole. You’re disgusting, Loki,” Tony told him. 

Loki let out a sigh and said, “I understand why you are hesitant to believe me, but I promise I have no ill intentions.”

There was no proof, but Tony really felt like he was telling the truth. Tony really wanted to believe him. 

“What did you do to overthrow Santa?” Tony asked as they continued to walk through the workshop. The elves were not distracted by them and continued to build toys. 

“I have never met the man who held the title prior to me. There was a vacancy when I arrived here,” Loki responded. 

“So you just happened to stumble upon the North Pole and fill an empty position?” Tony questioned. It sounded too easy. 

“So you just happened to stumble upon the North Pole and crash here?” Loki smirked. Alright, point taken. 

Tony took a minute to think about what he was going to say next. He definitely didn’t want to be the guy to ruin Christmas for all of the kids in the world who celebrated. He wasn’t heartless. If Tony went back home and told everyone about Loki, there might not be enough time to replace him. Tony didn’t feel confident about it, but he knew that he had to keep this a secret. 

“If you give me back my suit, I promise not to tell anyone the location of the North Pole and anything that I have seen here,” Tony said. 

“That is fair. There is much at stake here, so I will have to bind this deal by magic,” Loki told him. 

Tony let out a groan. “Really?” 

“It is just a handshake. You won’t feel a thing.” 

“Fine,” Tony agreed. 

The two of them shook hands, and the green mist of Loki’s magic surrounded them. Loki was right, Tony didn’t feel anything from it, but it was still weird to see. 

“The magic forbids you from revealing the North Pole’s location and my true identity,” Loki told him. 

“Alright, Kringle” Tony replied.

“Your suit is in my office. I used my magic to transport it there after I found out that you were here,” Loki said.

Tony followed Loki to the upstairs of the workshop. Tony wasn’t sure what he was expecting Loki’s office to look like, but it certainly wasn’t what he saw. The office looked homey, like a living room in a cottage. There was a leather couch with a TV and a fireplace. A Christmas tree stood in the corner of the room that was fully decorated with ornaments and a star on top. There was a staircase at the other end of the room that presumably led to another floor of Loki’s private office. 

Tony’s suit was placed next to the couch and he could already tell that it was in rough shape. Parts of the suit were completely disconnected from each other. One of the arms was completely ripped off, and one of the legs was barely holding on. He couldn’t even imagine what he would have to fix internally. 

“He looks like he’s seen better days, right?” Tony asked with a hint of nervous laughter. 

“Luckily, there is an extensive workshop that you can use to fix it,” Loki said to him. 

Tony couldn’t stop himself from smiling. “Awesome!” 

The workshop was massive and Tony couldn’t believe that he had the chance to work in it. Loki led him out of his office space that looked more like a home and back into the workshop. He brought him to an area with all of the tools Tony would need. 

“I have some things I have to do to prepare for Christmas Eve. I’ll leave you to it,” Loki told him. 

“Thank you, St. Nick,” Tony winked. 

Loki let out a sarcastic groan and walked away. 

A few hours went by and Tony made some progress, but his suit was nowhere near ready to use. He didn’t think that he would be ready to leave by night time. He hoped that there was somewhere he could stay for the night. 

“Excuse me, Mr. Stark?” someone asked. Tony turned around to see that it was a female elf. 

“Yeah?” Tony responded. 

“I’m currently working on making some Iron Man action figures and I was wondering if I could get your opinion,” she said. 

“Oh yeah, of course!” Tony exclaimed. 

“Great! Thank you!” she grinned. “My name is Noelle, by the way.” 

Tony followed Noelle to her workstation and saw hundreds of Iron Man action figures in the process of being made. There were other elves working on them and action figures of other superheroes as well. The elves were definitely shorter than average, but they weren’t that small. They were probably around 5’-5’3. They made Tony feel tall for once in his life. 

After taking a look at one of the action figures, Tony had an idea. 

“All of my suits have a Unibeam. It’s a repulsion blast that comes out of my chest. Maybe you can simulate that by putting a light in the toy’s chest,” Tony suggested. 

“That’s brilliant!” She immediately started unscrewing the toy’s chest to begin building it. 

“Any time. This is a pretty elaborate system you guys have here,” Tony said as he looked around the workshop. The action figure section of the workshop was built like an assembly line, but it moved much faster than a normal one. Each elf had a specific job that they mastered. 

“Hundreds of years of practice helped us figure it out,” Noelle winked. 

“Hundreds of years?” Tony asked. Noelle didn’t look any older than 30. 

“Well, not just me. But I’ve been in the business for 300 years or so,” she told him. 

“Impressive,” Tony replied. 

Tony continued to talk with Noelle for a few more minutes and then went back to his spot in the workshop. He worked on his suit for a while, but he was still not even close to halfway done. A lot of the elves around him were starting to clean up for the night.

“It’s getting late, Stark,” Loki said from behind him. 

“I’m not finished,” Tony told him. 

“It’s okay. I have a guest room.”

It wasn’t that Tony minded staying there for the night, but not having a working suit still made him feel uneasy. He did not like having no way of contacting FRIDAY. He hoped that his AI wasn’t worrying about him too much. 

“Okay,” Tony said. 

Tony followed Loki back to his office, which confirmed Tony’s suspicions that it was also his home. 

“You are welcome to sit if you would like,” Loki offered as he gestured to the couch. 

Tony took a seat and Loki handed him a mug. It was full of hot chocolate. Tony hadn’t had a hot chocolate in years. He normally preferred coffee, but it was a nice change. Loki took a cookie off of the plate on the coffee table before taking a seat on an armchair. Tony felt more comfortable in Loki’s presence than he expected. The god was much less stabby than he used to be and he gave off a calming energy. 

“Of course you have cookies,” Tony stated with a raised eyebrow. 

“Ah, yes. I have always had a sweet tooth but it has increased since I took on this role,” Loki responded. “I suppose you have many questions for me.” 

That was an understatement. 

“I’m not saying you look bad, but you don’t look fat and jolly. And where is the beard” Tony asked. 

Loki let out an amused chuckle. “Santa isn’t  _ supposed  _ to be anything. You mortals came up with a definition of who he is and haven’t allowed him to evolve over time.”

“But what if a kid sees you? Wouldn’t they be expecting the classic look?” 

“I am a master of illusions, Stark. The children see what they expect me to look like if I do get caught,” he answered. 

That made sense. Thor had told Tony some stories of his and Loki’s childhood. He explained to him how Loki was an illusionist and shapeshifter, which had helped him cause a lot of mischief as they were growing up. That didn’t exactly explain what the Santas before Loki did, but maybe they actually looked the part. 

“So how did you even become Santa? You just walked in and declared it?” Tony questioned. 

“It is more complicated than that. The first person to wear the suit after the previous person retires or passes away becomes the next Santa. I was not fully aware of the consequences of donning the suit until after it happened,” Loki responded. Tony could tell that there was more to the story that Loki wasn’t willing to tell him yet, but he didn’t exactly mind. Loki had to figure out how much he could trust him first.

“So what’s your favorite kind of cookie, Jolly Stabs?” Tony asked to lighten the mood of their discussion. 

“That’s a new one,” Loki said, looking amused. “I’d have to say chocolate chip are my favorite. But I am also a big fan of peanut butter.” 

Tony didn’t see Loki as a peanut butter kind of guy.

Tony woke up the next morning in the guest room of Loki’s home. The bed was incredibly comfortable and he found himself having a hard time convincing himself to get up. But he knew that he had to continue working on his suit if he ever wanted to go home. When Tony finally stood up, he noticed a clean set of clothes on the dresser. It was a red sweater and black jeans. Tony wasn’t normally one to wear sweaters, but it looked very soft and warm, so he put it on. 

After getting dressed, Tony headed downstairs. He found Loki sitting at his desk reading some papers. There were muffins and bagels on the table and Tony took a muffin. 

“Good morning, Stark,” Loki said as he looked up from whatever he was reading. 

“Morning, Lokes,” Tony replied. Why did spending his morning with Loki feel so natural?

“I have meetings for most of the day. As you can imagine, it is a very busy time of year here. You are welcome to use the workshop again to repair your suit,” Loki said. 

“Thanks,” Tony responded. 

They continued to chat during breakfast until Loki had to leave. Tony went back to the workshop to work on his suit. He started with trying to repair the internal systems to get FRIDAY working again. He was trying to figure out a way to contact her to let her know that he was alright without disclosing his location. It was difficult since Tony suspected magic was preventing FRIDAY from recognizing him. He would maybe have to speak to Loki about it. The system wasn’t even fully repaired yet so he wouldn’t have been able to access FRIDAY yet anyway. He really damaged the suit during his crash. 

Tony also spent another part of his day helping Noelle and some of the other elves design toys. It was a lot more fun than he expected it to be. Before he knew it, the day was almost over and he was still not halfway done repairing his suit. He would have to stay with Loki again. 

When Tony was finished working for the day, he ate dinner with Loki in his home. Tony actually really enjoyed the conversation they were having. Loki was telling him his favorite stories from Christmas Eve. 

“So the dog was probably half my size, and he was angry that I was eating the cookies the family left out for me. He jumped up so his front paws were on the table and stole the cookie right out of my hand!” 

“I’m sure you were able to eat enough cookies that night though,” Tony chuckled.

“Of course. But the cookies had peanut butter  _ and  _ chocolate in them. Do you realize how uncommon that is, Anthony?” Loki responded. 

Tony threw his hands up in the air. “My bad.”

“Anyway, the dog ate the cookies and proceeded to bark at me until I made my way up the chimney. I was afraid that he would find a way to follow me up,” Loki told him. 

“At least he didn’t bite the suit,” Tony said. He could only imagine how annoying that would be. 

“Christmas magic is easily able to repair it, but that would still be unfortunate,” Loki said. 

“Christmas magic is different than your normal magic?” Tony asked. 

Loki took a sip of his hot chocolate before replying, “Yes, they come from different origins. My seidr is what I was born with, but I did not possess any Christmas magic until I put on the suit. It is what allows me to go up and down the chimneys, visit each child on Christmas Eve without running out of time, and eat as many cookies as possible.”

“I was wondering how you are able to go around the world in one day,” Tony said. He knew there were different time zones but it still normally wouldn’t be enough time. 

They ended up talking all night. The only thing that made them stop was Loki not being able to stop himself from yawning. But of course, he had time to eat another cookie before going to bed. Tony thought it was cute. 

_ Oh _ . 

  
The next day, Loki offered to show Tony around the village because he had the morning free. Tony knew that he had to work on his suit, but he couldn’t stop himself from saying no. It was the North Pole, how could he not want to see it? 

Loki let Tony borrow a winter coat that was a little too big on him, but it was really warm. As they walked through the town, there were dozens of elves running around preparing for Christmas Eve, which was in a week and a half. Everyone looked stressed, but Tony knew that they would get their jobs done. 

It wasn’t the first time that Tony walked through the village, but this time Loki took the time to explain the significance of some of the buildings. For example, the restaurant on the corner was where the first Santa Claus read through the naughty and nice list. And the ice skating rink had been there for almost 1,000 years, and all of the children skated there on Friday nights in December. The village felt like a place that Tony could easily call home if he had the chance. 

Tony and Loki grabbed a quick breakfast at a diner. The menu was filled with sweet breakfast foods, such as hazelnut chocolate pancakes and chocolate batter waffles. Tony normally preferred savory foods like eggs and sausage in the morning, but he realized that everyone in the North Pole had a large sweet tooth. However, the pancakes that Tony ordered were really good and he definitely wanted them again sometime. Spending time with Loki was more fun each time and Tony was really starting to have a great time. 

After returning to the workshop, Tony was able to finish the internal repairs of his suit. He could contact FRIDAY again under normal circumstances. He decided that he would ask Loki later that night if there was a away he could talk to her for just a few minutes. Tony spent the rest of his afternoon looking around the workshop and letting his mind wander. The elves were very efficient, but he was able to come up with more ideas to help them that he wanted to talk to Loki about. 

Tony went back to Loki’s home and noticed him sitting at his desk. There were piles of books scattered around him, and Tony noticed that the page Loki was reading had a list of names. 

“Oh my god, you’re checking it twice, aren't you?” 

Loki smiled softly and shut the book. “That is another myth you mortals came up with. Children have thousands of thoughts and actions every day. I could hardly keep up if I only checked twice a year.” Tony never thought about it, but that made a lot of sense. 

“There really is a lot that goes into all of this,” Tony said. He didn’t know why he was surprised. Of course there was so much to do to prepare for such a big holiday. 

“It’s my life,” Loki shrugged. 

“I have an idea. It’s okay if you say no but I really want to do something to help the workshop out,” Tony said. 

Loki looked intrigued and encouraged Tony to continue. 

“When I was in college, I created my first artificial intelligence. His name was DUM-E and he was made mostly to help me out in my workshop. Him and U pass me tools when I need them and can do simple tasks for me. I was thinking I can make some bots to help the elves out in the workshop so they can spend more time creating ideas for new toys and doing more challenging tasks. They could just be like an extra set of hands,” Tony explained. 

Loki paused to think before replying, “That would be wonderful, Anthony. I’m sure the elves would really appreciate the help. But I do not want to keep you away from your responsibilities and friends at home for too long.”

The thing was, Tony didn’t have much back in New York. He didn’t really have any friends anymore, not since the accords. The rest of the old Avengers were hiding as fugitives and Tony had no desire to ever see them again. Rhodey was still a good friend, but Tony couldn’t imagine that he wanted him around ever since the accident. Even though Rhodey insisted that it wasn’t Tony’s fault, Tony couldn’t get himself to believe it. And he didn’t spend time with Pepper outside of business anymore since they broke up. They were still friends, but they needed time to heal. So Tony didn’t have anyone waiting for him back home. 

“It’ll be fine! I have time,” Tony responded. “I just have one thing I would have to do first.”

“What is it?” Loki asked. 

“I have to tell FRIDAY that I’m okay. I’m sure she is worried about me and I don’t want her to tell anyone that I’m missing. I fixed the system in my suit that allows her to work but I can’t contact her here,” Tony said. 

“Our deal prevents you from disclosing your location while you’re here,” Loki told him. 

“I know, and I wasn’t trying to tell her where I am. I just don’t want her sending a search party since she still hasn’t heard from me. I just need to tell her that I’m alive and safe without telling her where I am,” Tony explained. 

Loki sighed quietly, “I can perform a spell so you can talk to her briefly, but I can’t allow you to talk to her for long.” 

“I understand. Thank you, Loki.” 

The two of them went into the workshop to get to Tony’s suit. It was weird seeing the workshop completely empty for the night. It was much more quiet. 

Tony talked to FRIDAY for a few minutes. She was worried about him and Tony felt guilty about it. It probably reminded her of Siberia when she couldn’t get in contact with him. He told her he will be home soon and will check in again if needed. 

The following days were filled with Tony working on the bots for the workshop. Noelle was ecstatic to find out what Tony was working on. She spoke for fifteen minutes about how much she will be able to get done during the day without having to search for tools. By the fourth day, Tony was able to finish three bots and the elves were beginning to use them. Their names were HOLL-E, TIN-SEL, and X-MAS. 

It went by fast, but Tony had already been in the North Pole for a week and a half. 

“The elves and I are very grateful for the robots that you have invented. I have heard nothing but great things from them,” Loki told him that night after dinner. 

“I’m glad that they like them,” Tony said. It felt good that people appreciated his inventions. It had been a while. 

“I’d like to show you something tonight if you would like,” Loki said. 

“Show me what?” Tony asked curiously. 

“It is a surprise,” Loki grinned. 

Tony normally didn’t like surprises, but he found himself excited to find out what it was. They had to walk through the village to get to wherever they were going. Loki was wearing a green beanie that covered his ears and Tony couldn’t stop thinking about how cute he looked. He wanted to kiss him. If Tony was being honest, that was what he had been thinking about most of the days that he spent in the North Pole. 

“Are we there yet?” Tony asked. He felt childish, but he didn’t care.

“Almost,” Loki replied. 

They walked to the outskirts of the village to a building that looked like a barn. Tony could only guess what was kept in there. 

“Is this what I think it is?” Tony asked. 

Loki nodded. “This is my favorite place in the North Pole.”

The fact that Loki wanted to share his favorite spot with Tony almost made him blush. He tried his best to hide it, but it made him so happy. 

“Well, let’s go inside!” Tony exclaimed. 

Each reindeer had its own spot in the barn. It resembled a horse stable, but it was much more spacious. All of the reindeer perked up when they saw Loki, like they had a special connection to him. 

“Hello, everyone,” Loki said. The reindeer all responded with a noise that sounded like a grunt. It wasn’t an angry sounding grunt, they all seemed very happy to see him. 

“Hi,” Tony said to all of them. He felt nervous, which wasn’t something that he felt often. 

The reindeer that stood closest to him reached with his head to sniff Tony. It tickled a little bit, but Tony figured the reindeer was just trying to get to know the new person in its home. 

“Comet, be nice,” Loki warned. 

Comet let out a grunt and pulled away from Tony. Tony pet his head and Comet leaned into Tony’s touch. 

“Oh, now he’s never going to let you go,” Loki smirked. 

“I don’t think I mind,” Tony declared. Comet’s fur was soft and Tony could pet him all day. 

Tony stayed with Comet while Loki said hello to the rest of the reindeer. Watching him interact with all of the reindeer was an amazing sight. It was easy to tell how much Loki cared about them. 

“There is someone else that I want you to meet,” Loki told him. 

Tony followed Loki to the other end of the barn and Comet grunted in protest, but Tony promised to say goodbye before he left. What Loki showed Tony was one of the cutest things that he had ever seen in his life. It was a baby reindeer, and it was about the size of a medium sized puppy. 

Loki knelt onto the ground to greet it and said, “Hello, Winter.” Winter jumped into Loki’s lap and began to sniff his face. 

Tony took a seat next to Loki to get a closer look. The reindeer had light brown fur and antlers that were just barely poking out of his head. 

“Hi there,” Tony said softy. He put out his hand for the young reindeer to sniff. After a few sniffs, Winter jumped into Tony’s lap. 

“He likes you,” Loki noted. 

“I feel honored,” Tony replied. He didn’t want Winter to ever leave his lap. 

The two of them sat in a comfortable silence for a little while as Tony gently scratched Winter’s forehead. The reindeer was beginning to struggle to keep his eyes open. Winter eventually placed his head on Loki’s lap so he was lying down on both of them. 

“I guess we’re stuck here forever,” Tony chuckled. 

“He is too precious to disturb. I suppose we can stay here for a little while longer,” Loki responded. 

“Thank you for bringing me here,” Tony said to him. It meant that Loki trusted him enough to show him something so important to Christmas. And it was Loki’s favorite place. 

“I thought that it was something that you should see before you leave,” Loki told him. 

Suddenly, Tony felt his heart drop into his stomach. He didn’t know how it happened, but he forgot that he was supposed to go home eventually. The reason why he was still here was because he had to fix his suit, but he hadn’t even worked on it in days. Tony didn’t want to go home. He liked the North Pole. It felt like home more than his tower ever did even though he had only stayed for a week. He enjoyed Loki’s company more than anyone he had spent time with in years. 

“You do not have to leave yet, Anthony. Take as long as you need,” Loki reassured him. He clearly was able to figure out what Tony was thinking. 

“Alright,” Tony replied. He didn’t know what else to say. 

Tony couldn’t help but notice how content Loki looked. His demeanor was so different than the first time they met. It was as if Loki was uncomfortable in his own skin back in 2012. But in the North Pole, Loki was able to be the person that he wanted to be. 

“You really like it here,” Tony said. He didn’t exactly mean to say it out loud. It just slipped out. 

“I belong here,” Loki said simply. 

It was weird, but Tony kind of felt the same way. He didn’t know how he could feel that way so soon, but he felt more at home each day. 

“I am sure that Thor told you about my apparent death,” Loki said. He was right, Thor said that Loki died during a battle on another planet. 

“He said you were stabbed by one of the dark elves,” Tony told him. 

“I was, but my seidr was able to help me heal enough for me to leave Svartalfheim. I used the last of my energy to travel through the branches of the Yggdrasil and find a place to let me heal completely if I was able to. I was weak and disoriented, but I was led right outside this barn,” Loki began to explain. 

“You came here by accident?” Tony asked. 

“I was shivering and sure that I was dying. My battle armor was damaged and bloody. There were clothes on the ground, a red jacket and pants. I was sure that if I put on cleaner and warmer clothes, I would have a better chance of survival.”

“Holy shit,” Tony gasped. Whoever put on the suit becomes Santa Claus. Loki had already told him that he didn’t know what putting the suit on meant, but the circumstances that led to it happening was surprising. 

“The suit possesses Christmas magic, which always finds a way to present it to the person who is meant to be the next Santa Claus. I believe it was what brought me here,” Loki told him. 

So Loki didn’t come to the North Pole to hide. He was literally  _ supposed  _ to be Santa Claus. He was meant to be there. 

“I’d say the magic chose the right person,” Tony said. He was never one to believe in magic, but Loki as Santa Claus was a perfect fit. 

Winter let out a soft snore and Tony couldn’t hold back a smile. He ran his hand through the fur on his head. He was sitting so close to Loki that their arms and legs were pressed against each other. 

“Stop me if you wish,” Loki said, and before Tony could react, Loki’s lips were on his. 

It was a gentle kiss. Loki’s lips were cool to the touch, most likely because of the temperature in the barn. It felt too natural for a first kiss. It was as if they were meant to do this, because it felt so normal even though the thrill of kissing him for the first time was still present in Tony’s mind. When they tried to pull apart, Tony couldn’t stop himself from leaning in again. He didn’t want to be apart from Loki ever again. 

After their second kiss, Tony couldn’t miss the smile of adoration on Loki’s face. Tony’s expression probably mirrored his. 

“Well, that was amazing,” Tony grinned. 

Loki let out a laugh and pulled Tony closer to him without disrupting Winter who was still sleeping on top of both of them. They stayed there for a while until Winter finally stood up and went back to his normal sleeping spot. Tony wasn’t ready to get up yet, but eventually they decided they should go back to Loki’s home where it was much warmer. Loki kissed Tony goodnight before they went to sleep. 

The next day, Loki had meetings to attend with Christmas Eve less than a week away. Tony spent the day helping out Noelle and some of the other elves build some last minute toys. He figured that his suit could wait. There was no rush. Tony was sure that he would have been able to finish repairing the suit in a few hours, but he wasn’t ready to go home yet. 

When Tony left the workshop, Loki was already back from his meetings. He was going through the list again, most likely for the last time before the big day. Tony looked over his shoulder to see that Loki was going through the naughty list. There was one name on the list that Tony recognized. 

“You put yourself on the naughty list?” Tony asked. 

“You weren’t supposed to see that,” Loki said, avoiding Tony’s question. 

“But I did see it. And I want to know what the hell you’re thinking,” Tony stated. 

Loki sighed, “There are things that you cannot come back from, Anthony.”

Yes, Loki had done some bad things in the past. Some very bad things. But the Loki that tried to take over the planet was much different than the Loki that Tony had gotten to know over the past week and a half. This Loki was so  _ good  _ that Tony couldn’t even comprehend why this conversation was even happening. 

“That’s bullshit and you know it. You’ve changed,” Tony responded. 

“You don’t know me,” Loki told him. 

“Again, Lokes, that’s bullshit. We haven’t known each other for a long time but I do know that you are a good person. You care so much about others and not yourself,” Tony explained. 

“Adults don’t get presents from me, anyway. It does not matter,” Loki was quick to respond. 

Tony gently rubbed circles on the back of Loki’s hand with his thumb. “It does matter because you don’t see how special you are.”

Loki pulled his hand away and paced around the room. Tony tried not to be as hurt about it as he was. 

“I have not been completely honest with you, Anthony.” 

Tony tried not to panic.

“What do you mean?” Tony questioned

“You crashing here wasn’t a coincidence,” Loki told him. 

It had to be a lie. Tony wasn’t paying attention to where he was going, but he chose to fly north. 

“How?” 

“Do you remember last night when I said that Christmas magic led me here?” Loki asked him. “I believe that it brought you here as well.” 

Tony flew to the North Pole on his own, even if it wasn’t on purpose. He wanted to see snow, so he flew in that direction. But why did he want to see snow? He couldn’t remember. Tony hated snow ever since Siberia, so it didn’t make sense that he would want to see some. He had nightmares about lying alone in the cold in his broken suit. Loki was right. 

“How long have you known?” Tony asked quietly. He could barely get himself to speak. 

“I could feel how right it was when we kissed for the first time. The only other time I felt anything like that was when I put on the suit for the first time,” Loki explained. 

At least Loki didn’t know beforehand. He wasn’t lying to Tony the whole time that he had stayed with him. 

“So we’re meant to be?” Tony asked him. 

“You don’t want this, Anthony. It is the magic makes you believe you want to be with me,” Loki told him. 

Tony almost choked on his breath. It wasn’t fair for Loki to decide what he wanted. He was able to make his own decisions, and he knew that his feelings were real. They had to be.

“You’re wrong. I like you, Loki. I liked kissing you and I want to do it again,” Tony replied. 

“I think you should go home,” Loki sighed. 

It was only yesterday that Loki said that Tony could stay for as long as he needed. Tony didn’t understand how Loki could change his mind so quickly. He wanted to scream at Loki and tell him how dumb he was acting. He wanted to tell him how the past week and a half was probably the best time he had in years and magic couldn’t make that happen. 

“My suit isn’t fixed yet,” was all that Tony could say. “I’ll finish it in the morning.” 

Tony didn’t even wait for Loki to reply before he ran upstairs to the guest room. 

Instead of starting his day by finishing the repairs for his suit, he helped Noelle with some final touches on the Iron Man action figures. It was December 21st and all of the presents had to be finished and wrapped by the end of the day. 

Tony was stalling. He hoped that Loki would finally come to his senses and apologize for how stupid he was acting, but he never did. By the late afternoon, Tony finally got himself to start with the repairs. It only took him a few hours to finish everything. He tested the suit out in the workshop and it was fully functional. He would have access to FRIDAY again as soon as he left the North Pole. 

Tony hadn’t put much thought into what he was going to do for the holidays. He originally wasn’t going to do anything. After arriving at the North Pole and getting to know Loki, he hoped that he would be able to spend Christmas there. Christmas alone in New York didn’t sound appealing to him anymore. 

By the time Tony was ready to go back to New York, it was a few hours past dinner time. Loki still wasn’t home. After an hour or so of waiting, Tony still couldn’t get himself to leave. He couldn’t go without saying goodbye to Loki. He had a feeling of where he was hiding. 

Tony was proven right when he found Loki feeding the reindeer in the barn. 

“I thought that you would have been on your way home by now,” Loki said. 

“I’m still here,” Tony said simply. Comet grunted in response. He was happy to see Tony. 

“Why?” Loki asked. 

“Because I needed to tell you how irrational you are being,” Tony responded. “You were saying how the magic brought me here but you didn’t even ask me how I felt about the situation.” 

“Go on,” Loki said. 

“Maybe the magic made me crash here, but it brought you here too and you’re happy here. Why can’t the same be true for me?” Tony was trying his best to make Loki see the truth. 

“I was meant to take on this role,” Loki told him. 

“And maybe I was meant to be here with you. You said it yourself that the magic told you that we are right for each other,” Tony said. 

“You don’t want this, Anthony. You have a life back in New York, you cannot possibly want to stay here with me.”

But Tony did want that. He wanted it more than anything. The thought of going back to New York made him feel sick to his stomach. He wanted to stay with Loki. 

“New York hasn’t felt like home in a long time,” Tony told him. 

“It was our kiss that made you want to be with me,” Loki said. 

Was that what Loki thought? Did he think that Tony didn’t have feelings for him until they kissed? Loki thought it was only the Christmas magic he felt when they kissed that made Tony want to be with him. Tony almost laughed at how stupid this argument was. If only Loki had known the truth. 

“I wanted to kiss you before you kissed me. You kissing me didn’t change how I felt about you,” Tony explained to him. 

“Are you sure?” Loki asked. “I do not know how much longer I can hold myself back from you.”

“You don’t have to, Lokes. I’m here for good,” Tony grinned. 

Loki cupped his hands around Tony’s cheeks and pulled him in for a kiss. The kiss was even better than the ones that they shared in the barn two days before. Tony knew that this was where he was meant to be. He never believed in magic, but if it could bring him to something this great, he couldn’t deny its existence any longer. 

“Let’s go back home,” Tony said once they pulled apart.

“I like the sound of that,” Loki responded before giving Tony a quick kiss on his cheek. 

They did not have much time to spend together during the days leading up to Christmas Eve. Loki was incredibly busy with meetings and preparations. Tony was almost worried that Loki was spreading himself too thin before the big day, but he trusted that Loki knew what he was doing. He had gone through Christmas two times before. 

They woke up early in the morning on Christmas Eve. Loki was due to leave at dawn in order to get to Australia and New Zealand in time for their nightfall. After Tony got dressed, he found Loki looking at himself in the mirror while wearing the suit. It was a beautiful shade of dark red and it was easy to tell how much better the quality was than any of the other fake suits that Tony had seen before. Tony wrapped his arms around him from behind and leaned his head on Loki’s shoulder. 

“You look great, Santa,” Tony smiled. 

“I can never get used to seeing myself like this,” Loki said. 

“You can look at yourself in the mirror when you get back tonight. You’re going to be late,” Tony told him. 

They made their way outside to see that the sleigh was already prepared. Loki’s bag was in the back of the sleigh and all of the reindeer were in position. 

“Be safe,” Tony said to Loki before giving him a kiss. 

“You do not have to worry,” Loki told him. 

“I know,” Tony replied. 

Loki got in his sleigh and took off towards the sky. 

Tony spent the day preparing for Loki’s return. He had an idea for a Christmas gift for him, but he needed Noelle’s help.

“Oh, the boss is going to  _ love  _ this,” Noelle said to Tony after he told her his idea. 

“You can help me make it happen?” Tony asked. 

“Of course!” she exclaimed.

Noelle showed him how to make it and he tried his best to do it on his own. The elf only had to help him out sometimes and Tony was really happy with how it came out. He couldn’t wait to show Loki his surprise when he got home. 

Tony put some cookies in the oven so they would be ready when Loki got back. He made sure to make chocolate peanut butter cookies for Loki to make up for the time the dog stole his. Just before midnight, Tony placed the plate of cookies and a glass of milk on the table. He made sure to put the gift that Tony wrapped for him under the tree. Now all Tony could to was wait. 

Tony was half asleep on the couch when he heard Loki walk in. He woke up quickly. 

“You’re supposed to be asleep while I eat the cookies,” Loki grinned. 

“I think you can make an exception for me,” Tony told him. 

“Just this once,” Loki winked.

Loki leaned forward and kissed him. He tasted like cookies and all Tony could do was laugh once they pulled apart. 

“How many cookies did you eat?” Tony asked. 

“Too many,” Loki laughed. 

“I hope you have some room for a few more,” Tony said. 

“Of course I do,” Loki said before taking a bite from one of them. 

It was obvious how exhausted Loki was. He had dark circles under his eyes and he looked like he was about to collapse at any second. 

“I think it’s time for you to go to sleep,” Tony chuckled. 

“ _ Please. _ ” 

After going upstairs, Loki took off his suit and folded it with care before jumping into bed with Tony. Once he was in bed, Loki immediately wrapped his arms around Tony and kissed him on the cheek. Tony didn’t know what he did to be so lucky. 

“It is much nicer having someone to come home to on Christmas Eve,” Loki said. 

Tony hummed in response as Loki snuggled his head into his neck above his shoulder. He wanted to be there every Christmas Eve night for Loki. 

They slept in on Christmas morning. Loki didn’t wake up until after noon, which wasn’t surprising. Tony could only imagine how tired Loki must have felt. He traveled around the world to deliver presents to thousands of children. That had to be the most exhausting job in the universe. 

“Good morning,” Loki whispered. 

“It’s the afternoon,” Tony chuckled softly. 

“I slept until dinner time my first year, so this is an improvement,” Loki told him. 

“You deserve the rest,” Tony responded to him. 

Loki looked like he was considering going back to sleep until his stomach growled. 

“How could you possibly be hungry?” Tony laughed. 

“I slept through breakfast,” Loki replied as if he didn’t eat thousands of cookies the day before. 

They got out of bed and went downstairs. Tony made breakfast for the two of them because Loki still looked like he was tired. He wasn’t an experienced cook, but he was able to manage some scrambled eggs. He figured it would be a nice break to have something other than sweets. 

“I have a surprise for you,” Loki said after they were done eating. ‘

“For me? Why?” Tony asked. 

“It’s Christmas,” Loki said simply. 

Tony looked under the tree to see another present placed next to the one he made for Loki. He didn’t notice it there last night. 

“Open it,” Loki told him. 

It was a small box wrapped in red paper with a white ribbon tied around it. It had been a while since the last time someone gave Tony a present. He opened it to find a small handheld radio. It was nice, but he wasn’t sure why he received it. 

“I figured that having to put on your suit every time you wanted to talk to your artificial intelligence would be inconvenient,” Loki said. “It is small for now, but you are welcome to expand her network.” 

“Are you sure? What about our deal?” Tony asked. 

“I trust you.” 

“Thank you, Loki!” Tony exclaimed. 

Tony couldn’t believe it. He was willing to give up everything in New York to be with Loki, but he missed FRIDAY. Tony was happy to be able to keep her around. 

“I have something for you too,” Tony told him. 

Loki picked up the box wrapped in green wrapping paper with a red bow on top. When he opened it, he looked very surprised. 

“Don’t get me wrong, you look amazing in the red suit, but this felt more like your style,” Tony said. 

Loki held the replica of his suit in his hands, except instead of its classic red, it was the same shade of green as his seidr. The gift included the suit jacket, pants, and hat. 

“I know you can’t wear it on Christmas Eve, but I hope you like it,” Tony said to him. 

“It’s wonderful, Anthony,” Loki said with the biggest smile on his face. 

“Well what are you waiting for? Try it on, Mischief Claus.” 

Loki laughed at the nickname before going upstairs to change. As Tony waited for him to come back down, he couldn’t stop himself from thinking about how happy he was. He hadn’t felt genuine happiness in such a long time. He had dealt with the accords and former Avengers and it had been so long since he spent time with someone that he cared about. 

“How do I look?” Loki asked from the bottom of the staircase. 

The suit was a perfect fit. The green of the suit matched his eyes and Tony could tell how comfortable Loki felt in it. Tony didn’t want to take his eyes off of him. 

“Amazing,” Tony replied.

Tony stood up and made his way over to Loki. He kissed him as he reached up and wrapped his arms around his neck. It was a perfect moment. He didn’t know how any Christmas could be better than this, but he had many more to look forward to. 

**Author's Note:**

> Happy holidays, everyone :)


End file.
